Sports
No. 11 Wisconsin turns page, shifts focus to Washington
Feb 15, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Tonje (9) dribbles the ball down the court during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images Despite a stumble at home that coach Greg Gard called “uncharacteristic,” No. 11 Wisconsin remains in the mix for a top-four seed and accompanying double-bye in the Big Ten tournament. The regular-season title is still in play with four games to go, too.
The Badgers pursue those objectives when they host last-place Washington on Tuesday in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) led visiting Oregon by as many as 17 points on Saturday and went ahead 62-47 with 7:57 to play in regulation. That’s when the Badgers’ offense stopped humming, and the Ducks stormed back to tie the game at 66 and force overtime.
The back-and-forth extra period concluded with a 77-73 Oregon victory, ending Wisconsin’s five-game win streak.
Gard said Oregon caused Wisconsin to play with an unusual absence of aggression.
“The stats bear it out,” he said. “When you don’t shoot any free throws, you have 17 turnovers, 11 in the second half — when you turn the ball over like that, it’s a lack of aggression, it’s a tentativeness (and) I felt we didn’t play on our toes and keep the throttle down like we had in the first half.”
John Tonje continued his hot streak for Wisconsin, leading the Badgers with 22 points and seven rebounds. He’s paced the team in scoring for nine games in a row, averaging 24.8 points per game in that span while shooting 53 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from 3-point range. Tonje and John Blackwell guide the Badgers at 19.7 and 14.9 points, respectively.
Wisconsin is tied with Maryland for third in the Big Ten as of Monday, trailing Michigan State (13-3) and Michigan (12-3). UCLA and Purdue, both 11-6, are also vying for a top-four seed.
Before the Oregon loss, Gard spoke about the maturity of his team to turn the page after a three-game skid in December. He said his players — including six seniors or graduate students — don’t get too high or too low.
“I also don’t want to take the fun away,” Gard said, “so I’m not gonna completely (say), ‘Alright, we’re moving on to the next, let’s not enjoy this.’ No, let them. … But then in due time, ‘Alright, now we move on to the next,’ and they’ve done a great job of that, I think in large part due to their maturity and experience.”
Washington (13-14, 4-12) has struggled throughout its first season in the Big Ten and is in danger of missing the conference tourney. The top 15 teams will go, and Washington is two games out of 15th place.
The Huskies hit the road Saturday and lost 85-79 at Iowa before heading to Wisconsin. Washington shot 52.9 percent, its best number of the conference season, but fouled Iowa 21 times, leading to 23-for-26 free-throw shooting.
That followed an 89-85 overtime loss at home to Rutgers last week.
While Great Osobor leads Washington in points (15.0), rebounds (8.7), assists (3.4) and steals (1.9) per game, the backcourt trio of Tyler Harris (12.1 ppg), Zoom Diallo (11.2) and Mekhi Mason (9.5) are playing well down the stretch. All three of them scored at least 17 points against Rutgers, and none of them are seniors, meaning first-year coach Danny Sprinkle hopes to build something for the future.
“Tyler and Mekhi have been terrific,” Sprinkle said after the Rutgers game. “Shooting the ball at a really, really high level, attacking, being aggressive. It’s awesome to see those guys play with that joy and that fire.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marlins' Class A pitcher fails drug test, suspended 80 games
Sep 11, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of a illuminated Miami Marlins logo in center field after the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies split a double header at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Miami Marlins minor league pitcher Eiver Mosquera has received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance.
This season with Class-A Jupiter and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins in 12 games (nine starts), the 19-year-old was 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 16 walks in 38 innings.
Mosquera joined the organization in 2024 as a $150,000 international signing out of Venezuela.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC focusing on Fire, not player's demand, fan reaction
Sep 20, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder a(7) brings the ball up the pitch against Charlotte FC during the second half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Their leading goal scorer wants out of town and their goalkeeper is public enemy No. 1 after a costly gaffe during the World Cup played a key role in the United States losing to Belgium in the round of 16.
But New York City FC is still relying on Nicolas Fernandez Mercau and Matt Freese for big contributions Saturday night when the Chicago Fire invade Yankee Stadium.
Fernandez Mercau scored his 11th goal on a penalty kick Wednesday night during a 2-1 win at Columbus that got NYCFC (6-6-4, 22 points) to .500. It came one day after reports that the club rejected an $18 million offer for his services, leading to his demand that the team transfer him.
“You see a player that is performing for and with his team with a lot of energy,” head coach Pascal Jansen said of Fernandez Mercau. “That’s what he’s supposed to do.”
Freese, whose whiffed clearing attempt led to a third goal for Belgium in a 4-1 win on July 6, was booed on every touch Wednesday. Despite the jeers, he made three saves in the team’s first fixture after the World Cup break.
Meanwhile, Chicago (8-5-2, 26 points) sits third in the East table despite a 3-2 loss Wednesday night at Inter Miami. The result snapped the Fire’s three-match winning streak.
Chicago opted not to stand pat during the summer transfer window, adding Robert Lewandowski from Barcelona on a two-year deal. The 37-year-old Lewandowski, the captain of Poland’s national team, started at Miami and played 63 minutes.
“After just two days with my new team, I didn’t expect everything to work perfectly in my first game,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski’s signing led to the departure of star striker Hugo Cuypers. The Fire sold him to LIGA MX’s Monterrey for a reported $7.5 million after he scored 40 goals in 75 league matches over the past 2 1/2 seasons. Cuypers scored 13 goals in 11 matches this season, tying Dallas’ Petar Musa for the league lead.
NYCFC is 3-0-2 in its last five matches against Chicago.
–Field Level Media
Sports
CF Montreal acquire Brayan Ceballos from Revs for up to $850K GAM
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution forward Luca Langoni (41) congratulates defender Brayan Ceballos (3) after he scored his second goal during the first half against the FC Cincinnati at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images The New England Revolution traded defender Brayan Ceballos to CF Montreal on Friday in exchange for up to $850,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM).
The payments were divided into $500,000 in 2026 GAM, $250,000 in 2027 GAM and up to $100,000 in conditional GAM. The Revs also retained a percentage of Ceballos’ sell-on rights should he be transferred again.
“Brayan is a reliable and versatile defender who can play effectively in a variety of systems, making him an important addition to our roster,” Luca Saputo, Montreal’s managing director for recruitment and sporting methodology, said in a statement. “His strengths will complement those already present in our defensive unit. We are confident that he will contribute to our collective objectives as well as the team’s development.”
Ceballos, 25, came to the Revolution from Brazil’s Fortaleza EC in January 2025. He had three goals in 38 career games (37 starts) for the Revs, with two of those goals coming in one game this season, March 15 against Cincinnati.
“We are grateful to Brayan for all his contributions during his time in New England. We wish him all the best in Montreal,” Revolution general manager Chris Tierney said in a statement. “As we look to continue improving the first team, generating this significant amount of allocation money will allow us to continue investing in the roster in the future.”
–Field Level Media
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